Foldable cabinet



Nov. l, 1949 w. K. HARRIS FOLDABLE CABINET lFiled March 25, 194e 2 Shee'ts-Sheet 1 INVENTOR faZZcr-a rrz's,

. BY y ATTORNEY Nov. 1, i949 w. K. HARRIS 2,486,745

FOLDABLE CABINET Filed March 25, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l BY www ATTO R N EY fflded Afor packing in a small space.

Patented Nov. 1, 1949 UNITED STATES PAT-ENT OFFICE FOLDABLE CABINET lWalter K. fH'arris, Richmond, Va.

Application March 25, 1946,Serial.No.656,945

-4 Claims.

vMy invention relates to lcabinet structures, and 'particularly to those of a foldable type. It has for its object the production of a cabinet or vother receptacle of the portable and folding type which may be quickly unpacked, erected, or again'folded; which shall be light in weight; rigid when erected; inexpensive; and which shall be For the purpose of this application I have shown my invention as-developedin a foldable Wardrobe.

Figure 1 shows the erected wardrobe in perspective Figure 2 -is a vertical section of the erected wardrobe.

Figure 3 is a verticalsection of the Wardrobe in the `process o'f erection.

Figure 4 is a front elevation of the wardrobe with/apart of the front cutaway to show the interior.

:Figure 5 shows the wardrobe in process of being folded. i

.Figure 6 shows the wardrobe folded.

Figure '7 is across section of the front and the door of the wardrobe.

.Figure 8 is a'partial cross section showing a socket for supporting a coat-hanger rod.

Figures) is a partial perspective of the bottom of the wardrobe showing the fastening of the bottom shelf.

yFigure 10 is partial cross vsection showing the same fastening .of the bottom shelf, in detail.

My foldable wardrobe may be made of any suitable thin material; metal or wood, plywood, paper, paper-board, ibre-bcard- I will describe the fibre-*board construction.

`In Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 the wardrobe 2 consists of the side walls 4, 4; the back 6; the front 8, provided with an :opening I0 for door I2 hinged to one side of opening I0; the hinged tcp I4; the hingedbo'ttom I6; -'the hinged upper shelf I8; and the coat-hanger rod 20.

The back `6 extends above the other walls of the Wardrobe to form a seat 22 for the flat spring 24, `the fpurposeofwhich'isitc 'catch the free vedge 26 of the hinged top I4, as seen in Figures 1 and 2. The top I4 is shown hinged on the front wall 8 of the wardrobe, at 25, opposite to the upwardly extended back 6 carrying the flat spring 24. Obviously: the ypositions of the hinge and of the spring catch may be exchanged; the hinge being placed on the back 6 and the spring catch being placed on an upwardly extended front. As the hinged top I4 is swung down, its free edge 26 presses back the lower edge vof the spring catch 24, and passes it; and the catch snaps back, and holds the free edge of the top I4 down, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The tcp I4 has downwardly folded sidewings 28 which fit closely against the inside of the side walls 4, and at the same time strengthen and stiifen the squared edges of the When bending fibre-board on a line to `form an angle or a hinge the bending may be helped by scoring the inside of the fibre-board on the benfcl` line before attempting to make the bend.

4The "top I4 lis made 'of two thicknesses; the llower one, 32 lbeingintegral with the wings 2'8 and the flat part of thetop 32 is made by scoring vand then 'bending the libre-board 'as eX- plained above. If the fibre-board is of heavy construction it vmay be thinned on theinsi'de of the bend by a shallow "knife-cut. As will be fse'enin Figures 1 'and'2z "anouter thickness 34 is cemented on top ofthe under thickness 32 tc add strength yand fnish.

`'The upper shelf I8 is shown vhinged on the inside of fthe front 8 at`36,'as indicated `bytl'otted lines. This ushelf hasa `rear wing 38, and side Wings 40 which are notched at 42 to engage and res't upon the `coat-hanger 20 or its support 44. The said supportis formed of a Astrip of light metal'4`6 bent to shape-andpassed through slots 48fcut'inthe side wa1lsi`4 (see'Figures 2, 4, and V8) The bottom I6, which forms a lower shelf, isshown hinged at 50fon the inside of theback 5. This bottom shelf has side wings 52 and a front wing`54 which iS-cut, as at 56 (Figure 10) to fform'a ltongue -58 which, when lthe bottom is pressed down, 'and' into place, `enters slot '60, which is'formed ina -strip62 cemented across the bottom edgeof the-frontfbelow the door-opening III-0. This construction of the bottom shelf I6,'torigue 58, andstrip 62 with slot t@ for receiving lthe tongue 58 adds vgreatly to the strength and stiiness of the structure when erected. The stiffness of the structure is also aided b'y the methodby which the upper shelf I8 vand the top I4 .are hinged and are held fin place.

The front`-8, lside walls 4, and back 6 may be formed separately if "necessary, and be lhinged together -on 'ftheir Avertical edges; or they may be cut from one piece of fibre-board, and scored and-bent on lines fto form the vertical corners of the-structure. The top I4 may also b'elcut as an integral part of the front 8; later to ybe scored an'dbent to form the hinge 25. The `joint between'front and side orbetween back and side is 'to be `madelpermanent, by cementing, or by other fmeans.

The door I-2 ismade of double thickness preferably; lthe inner :thickness 64 fitting within the door opening I0; the outer one $6 overlapping the opening attop, bottom, and on one side i685 The-:door isfhinged-to'thefront 6 .on theopposite little; the separation being closed by the fibre or cloth hinge which extends from top to bottom. The inner thickness 64 of this door may be actually a part of the front 8; being cut from the front around the top, bottom, and one side; the remaining side being scored and bent to form the hinge. As the door is opened and closed many times I prefer to reinforce the bent hinge with a strip of suitable fabric.

The door latch I2 (Figs. 1, 4, and 7) slides in a slot 'I4 formed between the door thicknesses 64 and 66. This slot can be made by forming it on the inner or on the outer thickness of the door; or it can be made by interposing between the inner thickness 64 and the outer thickness 66 and upper and a lower thickness of fibre-board, leaving the slot I2 between them, as indicated in Figure 7. The latch is bent at 'I6 to form a handle 18; and it is offset at its ends 88 and 82 so that it may overlap the front at the edges of the opening I8. When the door is closed (Figure 7) the overlapping of the latch ends 88 and 82 on the edges of the opening I greatly stiffen the front and door structure.

To fold the wardrobe: the spring catch 24 is pressed back, and the free edge 26 of the top I4 is released and raised. The wings 28 are then folded back, even with the top sheet 32. The upper shelf I8 is raised and is swung upward on its hinge 36; and its wings 38 and 48 are then spread even with the shelf itself. The bottom I6 is then raised on its hinge D; and its wings and tongue 58 are spread even with the bottom itself. The rod may be left in place, or it may be lifted out of its supports 44. Or one end of the rod may be left in place and the other end lifted from its support. The whole structure may then be folded, as shown in Figure 6. In Figure 5 it is shown half way folded. The shipping space required for one of the folded wardrobes is much less than that which would be required for the erected wardrobe, or for one of the non-folding type having the same holding capacity.

I have shown my invention developed in the form of a wardrobe or hanging closet. It can be developed in other forms-for instance as a bookcase-by simply adding hinged shelves spaced apart far enough so that they can be folded up.

It will be noted that the top I4, bottom I6, and upper shelf I8 are not all hinged on the same wall of the cabinet. The hinged edges of the several parts are stiffer than their free edges; consequently placingthese hinged edges on diiferent walls of the structure add to its rigidity when erected. The lower portion of the structure is likely to be subjected to the greater torsional strains; and the method of hinging and latching the bottom I6 is an aid against these strains.

I claim: Y

1. A foldable cabinet having in combination four rectangular walls hinged together by vertical and parallel hinges and foldable together by closing two opposing hinges and opening the other two hinges; one of the rectangular walls being extended upward and higher than the other walls; a top member hinged to the wall opposite to the extended wall and adapted to swing down upon the adjacent walls and against the extended wall; and a spring catch secured on the extended wall and adapted to catch and to hold down the free edge of the top member against the wall extension,

2. A foldable cabinet having in combination four rectangular walls hinged together by vertical and parallel hinges and foldable together by closing two opposing hinges and opening the other two hinges; one of the rectangular walls extended its width upward and higher than the other walls; a rectangular top member hinged to the wall oppositeto the extended wall and adapted to swing down upon the adjacent walls and against the width of the wall extension; a spring catch extending the width of the wall extension and secured to the extended wall and adapted to catch and to hold down along its length the adjacent edge of the top member as it is swung down upon the two adjacent walls.

3. A foldable cabinet having in combination four rectangular walls hinged together by vertical and parallel hinges and foldable together by closing two opposing hinges and opening the other two hinges; one of the rectangular walls extended its width upward and higher than the other walls; a rectangular top member hinged to the wall opposite to the extended wall and adapted to swing down upon the adjacent walls and against the extension of the other wall; and a resilient strip of material secured by its upper edge to and extending across the wall extension and with its lower edge standing out from the surface of the wall extension and adapted to be pressed back by the descending edge of the closing top member and to spring out over the said edge after it has passed.

4. In a foldable cabinet having in combination four rectangular walls hinged together by vertical and parallel hinges and foldable together by closing two opposing hinges and opening the other two opposing hinges; one of its walls extending its width upward and higher than the other walls; a rectangular top member hinged to the wall opposite to the extended wall and adapted to swing down upon the adjacent walls and against the extension of the other wall; a door hinged in an opening in one of the walls; stop means to prevent the door opening inwards of the cabinet; and a bar of a greater length than the width of the door-opening slidably mounted on and against the inner surface of the door so that one end may pass beyond the hinge of the door at all times and so that the other end is slidable behind the opposite door-jamb to lock the door and retractable from behind the door-lamb to free the door.

WALTER K. HARRIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

